Administration of Cisplatin-Based Chemotherapy for Advanced Urothelial Carcinoma in the Community

BackgroundRenal dysfunction, poor performance status, and comorbidities may preclude frontline cisplatin-based chemotherapy in patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma (UC). The frequency of cisplatin-based chemotherapy administration in patients with advanced UC in community-based cancer centers is unknown.Patients and MethodsA retrospective study was conducted to evaluate chemotherapy regimens administered to patients with the AJCC (American Joint Committee on Cancer) stage-4 UC who, from 2001 to 2010, presented to Texas Oncology Cancer Centers. Frontline chemotherapy was classified as cisplatin based, carboplatin based, nonplatinum based, and as no chemotherapy administered.ResultsA total of 298 patients were eligible for analysis, of whom 197 (66.1%) were men. The median age was 70 years (range, 28-97 years), and the primary sites of disease were bladder (243 [81.5%]), renal pelvis (41 [13.8%]), and ureter (14 [4.7%]). Overall, the regimens administered were cisplatin based in 107 patients (35.9%), carboplatin based in 81 (27.2%), and nonplatinum based in 25 (8.4%); no chemotherapy was administered in 71 (23.8%), and data were not available in 14 patients (4.7%). Cisplatin administration was more common in patients aged ≤70 years (62/150 [41.3%]) as opposed to >70 years (45/148 [30.4%]) (P = .05). Noncisplatin regimens or no chemotherapy were trending to be more commonly administered to patients >70 years (64.2 vs. 54.7%; P = .10). Limitations of a retrospective database study apply.ConclusionA first-line cisplatin-based regimen was administered to 35.9% of patients who presented with AJCC stage 4 UC in a community-based cancer center network. Drug development focused on tolerable single-agent therapy or combination regimens without a cisplatin backbone should be a priority.